


Superhuman

by tfm



Category: Avengers (Comic)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-08-14
Updated: 2011-08-14
Packaged: 2017-10-22 14:55:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 890
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/239261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tfm/pseuds/tfm
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Finding time to have coffee can be difficult when you’re busy saving the world.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Superhuman

Carol Danvers scanned the tables at the café, eyes locking onto the woman sitting alone in the corner. Her head was down, and her hair hung over her face, as though she was afraid that someone might recognize her.

The café was a long way from the Avengers Mansion, and even further from Stark Tower, but if that was what it took to get Jessica Drew to grab a cup of coffee, then that was what Carol was going to do.

She ordered a cappuccino, ignoring the look the barista gave her. Even in her civilian clothes, she was used to being recognized. It was something that came with the job. All moral issues aside, that was one of the reasons why she’d never had an issue with registration.

But that was all in the past, now. Coffee in hand, she slid into the chair opposite her friend. It had been a long time since they’d done this.

‘So how’s it going on the A-team?’

‘I don’t see why they put _me_ on the powerhouse team,’ Jessica said sullenly. Carol almost rolled her eyes, but it was an affectionate kind of disdain. Jessica had always had something of an inferiority complex about her abilities, and being abducted by Skrulls certainly hadn’t helped matters. ‘You’re way more powerful than I am.’

‘Powerhouse doesn’t work for every situation,’ Carol countered, remembering the conversation she’d had with Tony…God, it felt like so long ago. Deaths aside, the aftermath of the Registration Act almost seemed to pale in comparison to what had happened recently.

‘Right, because the Avengers team with Wolverine, Spider-man, Hawkeye and the three most iconic Avengers of all time really needs an ex-Hydra agent to help them out.’ 

‘All that testosterone, you’d probably need to expel some pheromones to keep them under control,’ Carol quipped. ‘Besides, if I was on the powerhouse team, then there wouldn’t be a flier in the New Avengers. There’s always gotta be a flier in an Avengers team – I’m pretty sure it’s in the rules.’

Jessica gave her a look. ‘Not funny.’

‘Seriously, though I don’t get how Wolverine and Spider-Man do so many things at once. Isn’t Wolverine on like…five teams right now? I can barely find the time to be on one.’

Jessica didn’t respond straight away. She was staring at her coffee cup, drumming her fingers against the table. ‘I feel like I could do more.’

‘Being a member of the Avengers and hunting down aliens isn’t enough for you?’ Carol asked, exasperated. ‘You need to stop doubting yourself, Jess.’ There was an awkward sort of silence. ‘So how _is_ the alien hunting going?’

‘Great,’ Jessica said, sarcastically. ‘You really want, we can track down the Brood and wipe them out for good.’

‘Pretty sure I’ve had enough of the Brood to last a lifetime,’ Carol replied, not particularly keen on repeating her encounters with the alien species. ‘Or six.’

‘Pity. I think if I asked nicely, Brand might let me borrow a spaceship.’ There was something approaching a smile on her lips, which Carol took as a win. She knew how hard it was to pull a superhero out of a depression. Hell, she’d been there more than once in her life.

It was never just normal problems, like being stood up for a date, or your car not starting. It was being kidnapped by shapeshifting aliens, or having your personality split after you exploded in a (rather impressive, apparently) display of fireworks.

But at least it hadn’t driven Jessica to alcoholism yet. That was something that Carol was _way_ too familiar with. But that was not Jessica Drew’s style. She would beat herself up, and she would let other people beat her up, but that was it.

‘We never work together anymore. I miss that.’

‘We work together.’ Having finished her coffee, Jessica was playing with the tiny packets of sugar, building them into what looked like a miniature Quinjet.

‘When?’ Carol asked. ‘Barring any Avengers team-ups, when was the last time we worked together?’

Jessica frowned. ‘Fine,’ she conceded, knocking down her sugar-packet statue with a brush of the hand. ‘We haven’t worked together in a while. But next time there’s an alien menace I have to hunt down, I’ll give you a call. Plenty of them out there, that’s for sure.’

‘You do remember I’m technically half Kree, right?’

‘Oh, damn. There goes my plan of killing you and taking all your stuff.’ She smiled then – a _real_ smile, and Carol let herself relax slightly. They all had their down days – being a superhero meant that sometimes those days were a little bit worse.

There was a beeping sound, and Jessica pulled something from her pocket. ‘Huh. There’s an alien menace tearing up a suburban neighborhood in Virginia – still want a team-up?’

Carol raised an eyebrow. ‘An alien menace tearing up the suburbs?’

‘Hey, not everyone gets to attack Manhattan. You in?’

‘Do you want me there?’

‘Well if you don’t fly me over there, I’m gonna have to take one of the SWORD jets, and those things give me the heebie-jeebies.’ She was using humor to deflect her doubt, but Carol didn’t draw attention to it.

‘Well as long as I’m just your ride,’ Carol said, with a smile. ‘I guess I can live with that.’


End file.
